My 1978 has like 1/2-1/4 play in the wheel and is a pain in the *** to drive i have screwed the adjustment bolt on the steering box all the way down and their is still the same amount of play as if i unscrewed it all the way. Any ideas or was to fix this problem?

 

check the rag joint that connects the lower shaft to the steering column itself. it just above the gear box.

 

Has to be the steering box if you have the adjuster "in" all the way and it didn't effect anything. Usually in only takes a couple turns in to lock it up.

Rebuilding a box isn't for the faint of heart, your best bet is the junkyard or an expensive rebuilt unit.


Josh

 

The only parts available for the integral P/S gearbox are the seal kits, one for the input shaft, one for the sector shaft.

The spool valve and the other internal parts are obsolete.

Rebuilt P/S gearboxes can be bought at autoparts stores for about 150 bucks, but these are not really rebuilt at all, just resealed.

redheadsteeringgears.com is the way to go, as they machine the gearboxes to install the bearings that Ford left out...the major reason these gearboxes fail.

Go to their website and read all about it.

 

I just picked up a 77 f250 2wd 460 with same problem and after talking to my uncle and gpa they both told me to check the center link first as they tend to wear out and will have same effect.. hope this helps you..

 

Instead of us guessing, why not roll down the window, pop the hood and while you are standing outside the truck, reach inside the window and move the wheel back and forth. You will be able to see if it is the rag joint or steering box. If the input side of the box is turning back and forth and the arm on the bottom isn't, then you know.

 

Still, if the adjuster SCREW is turned IN all the way, and it made NO DIFFERENCE then the box is bad. Nuff said!

It should only take a few turns to LOCK UP the box.

Josh

 

True. If it is all the way down, the box is bad. I just hate it when I replace one known bad part and it doesn't completely fix the problem. It would be best to take care of all the bad stuff while he is in there.

In fact, jack up that front end, grab each wheel at noon and 6 and rock that tire back and forth (push with one hand while you pull with the other) and see how much slop you got in the king pins. Fun stuff to replace those!

 

I know a lot of guys with 77’s that had to replace the steering boxes. They seem to have been of a poor design on that year. I only got 40k out of mine before the wobble in the sector shaft made it dangerous to drive. Mine didn’t even have a bushing in the sector shaft, just the forged casing to the steel sector shaft. I took it to the local automotive machine shop and they bored out the casing and installed a bushing in it. There also wasn’t any cooling to the power steering fluid and the pump would get so hot that it would burn your fingers if you touched it even after a few miles. This took all of the seals out of the pump and steering box in short order. I installed a small tranny cooler in the return line to the pump. That was over 200k ago and I have never had another problem with the pump or steering box. It just shows that keeping things cool increases reliability.

 

Is your truck a 4x4 or 2x4? If 4x4, check your track rod, the bushing could be bad. Also check where it bolts to the front axle, this has a tendency to wallow and needs drilled out and bushed. If 2x4, have you ever rebuilt the suspension? Wheel bearings? Don't throw money at parts, check everything first.

 

my 78 was drifting all over the road..........The track bar bracket bolts that hold it to the frame just in front of the sector were loose. Tightened 'em up and it's mint again

 

So your saying the all parts store gear boxes will more than likely have worn gears? This is disturbing.

 

Advance Auto, Checker, Auto Zone etc... their so called reman gearboxes are really just repainted and resealed. No new hard parts.

Josh

 

Well this is great.

 

while that's probably true, I've bought and replaced several on a few different trucks and they were just fine. I guess i'd try that route anyways as they are quite easy to put in.

But, check all other parts mentioned above first!

cheers and good luck to you sir